Tag: sickness & health
-
What I don’t talk about.
I don’t talk much about hurting myself by “walking too fast” or “picking up a pencil the wrong way” because that’s my baseline, just as it’s my normal for unstructured social interaction to be a risky gamble. I might pay for attending a party with hours to days of shaky mental exhaustion or emotional swan dives, I might sprain my wrists stirring a […]
-
The puzzle of style
My hackles go up when people I will call Serious Reviewers base their assessment of a book’s quality on style. In the last week alone, I’ve read the phrases, “amateurish style,” “lacked style,” and “pretentious style” in multiple reviews. The market spectrum ranged from YA, through SF, to literary fiction. The market penetration ranged from […]
-
A plague of monsters upon this house
First, let’s get the basics out of the way. I am a wimp. I should’ve been a good, strong, ‘Murican and toughed it out without complaint. Sickness is no excuse for not getting the job done. Only weaklings get sick. Only selfish weaklings expect sympathy. Blah, blah blah. I know the drill. Too bad. I’m […]
-
Words Don’t Count Like That
I’ve read my fair share of writing guides. I’ve attended writing classes. I’ve studied tropes, themes, and character types, the 3/7/20/36 basic plots and the four types of storyline. I know the three-act structure and the Hero’s Journey. Over the years I’ve absorbed tons of advice aimed at improving my wordcraft and at making my work more […]
-
Writer’s Banes Episode 1: Procrastination and Inspiration
A recent discussion about procrastination on a Facebook board (of all places) got my dander up about the Great Art Versus Boring Grind debate. It’s a false argument that permeates articles about creativity too, and it toasts my temper, it really does. People, procrastination is normal. It’s inevitable. and it’s avoidable. The one thing that […]